...My opinion changed re: Nespresso when I gained hands-on experience. Permit me to briefly explain: all of my experience with Nespresso was at a store like Sur La Table (SLT) or Williams-Sonoma (WS), where someone else made the drinks, or in hotel rooms, where I did. Honestly, I was not impressed. Then, I stayed with a friend for several days who only had a Nespresso machine, BUT he also had probably every type of Nespresso capsule made on Earth (and maybe some that weren't!). I found that, by tinkering with the machine a little -- heck, you can only tinker a little! -- and by picking selected types, the coffee I got from his Nespresso machine was pretty good....

My reasoning for saying the Nespresso is drinkable is similar to Jason's...close friends have one and they have 8 or 9 of the capsules/pods available to use. My friends would prefer to have a setup like I do, but they aren't yet ready to spend the time to take good care of it, so they've stuck with their Nespresso. In fact, when they first started drinking coffee at my house, one of them (the wife) said, and I quote..."and I thought I made good coffee" Anyhow, as they have the palate to appreciate great wines, foods and coffee, I didn't bother to try different capsules. Instead, I just take the same pods as the husband (as he likes his espresso similar to how I like mine), and it's not bad. Sure, it's nothing like I make at home, but (and this is just my opinion) it's a lot better than *$$. Now, I'm not saying that to put *$$ down, but rather to lift Nespresso up. Having started the whole replies to this thread, I figure I'm one of the ones that OP has in so many words called a poo flinging snob (and I hope a mod gave him a strike for saying that). However, my intent was to 1) warn him he was not going to get many (if any) favorable replies, and 2) attempt to provide at least one tidbit of useful info (which apparently wasn't found useful).

So, I will openly apologize to OP for trying to help.

...and NOW, to ask you a question...just how many threads have you started here asking about how you can replicate your *$$ grande mocha habit at home...3, 4...more? Have you learned nothing from the replies? OK, sorry that's two questions, but I think you get my drift.

.

.Always remember the most important thing is what ends up in your cup!

I have a couple pod type espresso machines, including a Krups/Nespresso 583 that looks a lot like the original Nespresso C 220 with a portafilter capsule holder, a steam wand, and a hot water switch on the side. I don't use it as much as I used to but I can get something that tastes good to me out of it.

I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?

Thank you. I try to make the best with what I have at my disposal. (Actually, all this started because Starbucks was having me market test their Verismo pre-launch, and it was an interesting experience. Machine was interesting, but the coffee... it was VERY disappointing, over-roasted for my likes, bitter, and their 'lungos' were sour. I used Starbucks money to buy the Nespresso! LOL)

qualin Said:

If Dano says that EMOHOME makes good stuff, I trust him.Personally, I think that filling pods manually is a massive pain, might as well go to a portafilter when going that route, but again IMHO!

Yeah it is a pain to fill your own pods at times, but frankly my wife isn't going to use an espresso machine on her own, so the pods work out well for her. I've got 30 pods on the counter that need to be cleaned right now I'm told.

qualin Said:

I do have to slightly object to Dan's third point. I'd only consider pre-grinding if you don't have a grinder. Keep in mind that pre-ground coffee stales very VERY quickly and doesn't taste very good after a few days. Actually, if anything, it gets very nasty after 2 weeks or so. Ground coffee should always be used within 15 minutes of it being ground. If you don't already have a coffee grinder, get one. Even if it is one of those cheapie $20 knee mills. You can start out by making drip coffee with one or fill your own pods.

I'll agree with you on this when it comes to real espresso, but I did find that the Nespresso has some strange quirks when packing your own pods. I have had times where I left the filled pod in a container and after 1 week it mellowed and was quite flavorful, but I haven't spent the time to track the reason down. I originally used the store grinder that was decently calibrated, but eventually they didn't maintain the grinder and I had to buy my own Baratza Vario. (Figured buy something I can use for real espresso too eventually.) My typical setup is grinding enough for 4-5 pods, filling those, drink a couple, and the leftover pods are available for later use today or tomorrow. Try to keep 2 pods ready for wife's coffee in the morning.Yes, that breaks several coffee grinding rules, but it's definitely better coffee coming out than the stock Nespresso pods I think.

qualin Said:

On Dan's point six... 6 grams of coffee is a very small amount of coffee to work with. By deliberately limiting the amount of water you put through the coffee, you'll change its flavour profile and make the coffee less bitter. It may have a richer, sweeter taste. (I'm afraid I can't speak for experience here, but Dan obviously is the expert here! :-) ) Although, if you drown it in milk and chocolate, it probably is all a moot point anyway.

Yes, 6g is very little coffee. Reducing espresso output volume does give the nespresso more flavor and 'richness', although I wouldn't classify this as sweet in the normal espresso fashion. With proper packing I am able to get a 2 color 'crema' out of the machine rather than their typical only blonde crema. My pods also take about 15 seconds to extract, and the Nespresso pods take a few seconds. It's all in the way you pack them, and it's easy to choke the machine when you try to go beyond a 15 second extraction.

qualin Said:

On point 7, I'm not sure what they do to make it thick. Do they use creamer? Do they just use lots of chocolate? Obviously, the body of the espresso shot isn't what makes it thick. In some ways, I'm kind of tempted to try one out to see what they're like before saying anything else. Although, I'm going to go into it with the expectation that I'm not ordering a coffee drink, I'll be ordering a liquid dessert.

I'm not sure what's in cafe mocha, but I think the mocha part is the thickener with all the cocoa syrup that thickens when it's heated. I could be wrong there though.

Overall, I'm happy with Nespresso and do recommend it to friends with $$$ that don't want to mess with real espresso and want something better than Starbucks that's easy.If you love real, modern espresso then don't think of Nespresso as espresso. It's an espresso-like product. But it's not going to ever compete head to head with a good quality espresso and come out on top.

I'm in the middle of repairing and rebuilding an NS Oscar, so soon I hope to be enjoying home espresso and not home nespresso on a regular basis.

I looked at his old posts and it seems to me he has been asking the same question in different forms since 2011. I am not sure he is listening to any advice he has gotten here. And I am not sure he will bother to come back and read his thread.

I do appreciate the comments here, but I have to chuckle at the coffee snobs. You think that what YOU like is what everyone else should like and that "XX" coffee is crap, when in fact it's not to everyone.

Anyways, my question hardly got answered. All that was accomplished is that I now know NOT to post a question here anymore and look for my information elsewhere.

This is CoffeeGeek. It shouldn't be surprising that CoffeeGeeks generally don't care for Starbucks. If we preferred Nespressos and other single serve machines then we wouldn't be on this site. If you want feedback on single serve machines then refer to a single serve discussion forum.

What one prefers in the cup is all that matters but use the right tool for job. We aren't the ones to ask about superautos and single serves as they prioritize convenience above all else. We not only prefer products that prioritize what's in the cup above all else but go above and beyond by fixating on techniques to eke out as much as possible. Read up on temp surfing. Read the Insanely Long Water FAQ. Look into distribution techniques, discussion on channeling, and so on. That's the essence of coffee geekery. Any sort of geekery is like that.

It also shouldn't be surprising the coffee geeks try to expand the experiences of those that don't know of coffee better than what Starbucks (just as one example) can produce. Some people genuinely prefer Starbucks. Some don't know any better (and many coffee geeks were once at that stage as well). It's impossible for us to tell which camp you're in based solely on your posts in this thread.

I looked at his old posts and it seems to me he has been asking the same question in different forms since 2011. I am not sure he is listening to any advice he has gotten here. And I am not sure he will bother to come back and read his thread.

This is CoffeeGeek. It shouldn't be surprising that CoffeeGeeks generally don't care for Starbucks. If we preferred Nespressos and other single serve machines then we wouldn't be on this site. If you want feedback on single serve machines then refer to a single serve discussion forum.

There is more crossover in membership with the singleservecoffeeforum.com and this site than you are probably aware of - most are serious coffee lovers with high level equipment for varied brewing methods...

I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?

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